Dan Kantrovitz – Cubs Draft Guru

Welcome to Day 3 of the MLB Draft. Starting at 1 PM CDST, I will be live blogging the Cubs’ selections today which will be 10 players. There are a lot of good players still left on the board as Joe Doyle of Future Star Series broke them down by high school and college players this morning. Carlos Collazo of Baseball America also tweeted out some top names and I listed some this morning.

Then there are some sleepers out there…

Just to Remind You…

There is always good value to be had on Day 3. The Cubs have been rocking the 15 spot the past two years with BJ Murray and Haydn McGeary. It will be fun to see today’s names.

Day 3 Rounds 11-20

Round 11

With their first pick of the day, the Cubs take OF Zyhir Hope from Colonial Forge HS in Virginia.

I like this pick on its own. Very toolsy kid who will develop fast with pro instruction.

6-foot, 193, Bats and Throws Left…I can dig that. You can never have enough lefties!

And Baseball America gave him an 80 grade for running/speed.

Ranked 139 at Future Star Series

Hope is a super-athletic outfielder with a sweet lefty swing geared for power, loft and general impact. Hope has tremendous twitch and rotational power, generating massive exit velocities from a frame not necessarily built for that type of role. Power and athleticism in the field is definitely the calling card. Scouts want to see Hope hit a bit more against advanced competition, but if you’re buying into the showcase performances, Hope will have plenty of buyers. Scouts also think getting into a pro organization will improve his general athleticism in terms of foot speed and polish in the field. For now, he oozes projection but will need to add strength and training to maximize what he’s capable of. With all that said, a lot of teams like Hope as a LHP where he’s been up to 96, but more often sits 91-92, routinely grabbing 94 early in outings. Hope has the same impressive athleticism on the mound as he’s shown at the plate.

Round 12

With the 356th pick, the Cubs take Carter Trice, 2B, of NC State. He previously played at Old Dominion. The chain continues.

6-foot, 200 lbs. Bats and throws right. Just 20 years old.

BA lays out his career path:

Trice was a second team Freshman All-American after a standout 2021 season with Old Dominion where he hit .355/.426/.632 with 14 home runs and 17 doubles. His performance was enough to earn an invitation to the Collegiate National Team in 2021 and he was also named the Conference USA freshman of the year. 

He struggled some this spring but he was playing LF instead of 2B. Good to see that his time in the CCBL (Cape Cod) is going well. He’s hitting .300 with a .462 OBP this summer for Chatham.

Round 13

The Cubs take Old Dominion pitcher Sam Armstrong with the 386th pick.

He’s 6-foot-2 and 245 and throws right. He is also a senior.

Showed massive improvement this year with a 3.51 ERA in 77 IP with 72 Ks.

AT the Cape this summer, here is what Perfect Game said:

Armstrong got the opening day nod for the Mariners after making 15 starts for Old Dominion this season. He’s a big kid with a three pitch mix. His delivery features a leg lift where he wraps his knee back, he lands in line and finishes above the belt before swinging his leg through, occasionally falling off to the first base side of the mound. His fastball was 92-94 and induced two whiffs. His slider was his best offering, it was sharper at 84-86 and earned two backdoor Ks as well as a whiff. He threw a few changeups in the mid 80’s. Armstrong got stuck in deep counts but worked 4.1 hitless innings. He has the chance to really build his stock as he is draft eligible.  

Round 14

With pick 416, the Chicago Cubs take Grayson Moore, a reliever from Vanderbilt. Big kid at 6-foot-3 and works hard. 3.08 ERA in 12 appearances, 2 of which were starts. 36 Ks in 26.1 IP.

The Tennessean said of his stuff: “Moore has intriguing stuff, including a fastball that has touched 97 and a good slider.”

Joe Doyle said:

Moore works in the low-90s from an over-the-top slot with a hopping fastball. It’s a reliever profile with high strikeouts numbers. His bread and butter is a breaking ball in the upper-70s that has strong, definitive shape, though command of all his pitches needs to improve at the next level and he could serve to add more velocity to his arsenal. The traits behind his release and pitch metrics have some upside, though they’ll be limited with some more physicality.

Round 15

Cubs take Greg Huss State’s (Ball State) Ty Johnson, a 6-foot-6 RHP in the 15th round at pick at 446.

He throws a four-seam fastball at 94-97 with a “Vulcan” change-up and a slider. Likely a reliever. Only threw 53.2 IP this spring and made 10 starts but struck out 68 while opponents hit just .209 against him. It will be interesting to see what his role in going to be.

Round 16

With the 476th pick, the Cubs selected Daniel Brown. a big 6-foot-3 lefty that can touch triple digits. Not a lot of experience.

He’s pretty much a lottery ticket. If healthy, he could end up in Mesa.

Round 17

Pick 506 resulted in the Cubs taking pitcher Ethan Flanagan, a draft eligible sophomore from UCLA. Freshman All-American in 2022. This is the first time I going to say this, but this could be the toughest sign of the whole draft as he has two years of eligibility left.

6-foot-3, 205 lefty. I like the pick, but he will cost some extra dollars to get him to sign.

Here is how Baseball America described his two-year career at UCLA:

was a reliable reliever for UCLA in his freshman 2022 season, where he posted a 3.28 ERA over 60.1 innings. After the season he was invited to Team USA’s National Team trials roster. In 2023, Flanagan transitioned to a starting role and posted a 5.12 ERA over 31.2 innings, with a 21.1% strikeout rate and 10.9% walk rate. He didn’t pitch until April after dealing with forearm tightness early in the season, and has a long history of arm issues going back to a Tommy John surgery he had in high school. Flanagan’s velocity will fluctuate, but he typically sits in the 89-91 mph range, though he has been up to 94. 

Round 18

This is my favorite pick of the day! The Cubs took 3B Brian Kamer out of Gonzaga where he hit 15 dingers this year while hitting .358. Last year, he was the juco player of the year at nearby (to me) Wabash Community College. 6-foot-2, 215. Bats and throws right. Love this pick!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Round 19

The Cubs took Nick Dean, a 6-foot-3 right-handed pitcher at Maryland. He started for four years with his best year being his sophomore season. He had a 2.87 ERA that season.

He screams pitch lab.

Here is what Baseball America said of Dean.

[…] a pitchability righthander with a four-pitch mix of solid but unspectacular stuff. The 6-foot-3, 180-pound righthander posted a 5.54 ERA over 16 starts and 74.2 innings, with a 23.4% strikeout rate and 8.7% walk rate. His fastball sits around 90 mph and touches 93 with carry that helps it play up, and his go-to secondary is a low-80s changeup that has generated nearly a 40% miss rate. He also mixes in a slider at 80 mph and a slow, 12-to-6 curveball in the low 70s. 

Round 20

The Cubs ended the day taking 3B Drew Bowser from Stanford.

Big kid, athletic, power potential.

By the Numbers

Post Draft Content

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After the draft, NSB will be dropping some content tomorrow morning on where guys are possibly headed once they sign. When nondrafted free agency begins, we will also cover those signings, if they actually do happen. The Cubs only signed Grant Kipp after last year’s draft.

Also, Cubs on Deck will be dropping some analysis of the draft first thing in the morning as Greg Huss, Greg Zumach, and Bryan Smith talk about the draft class.